Ugandan party turns flag into protest symbol

HUNDREDS screamed with excitement as Uganda's opposition leader passed by a recent rally, with the crowd waving a sea of national flags - a dangerously politicised symbol in the run-up to this week’s election.

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Analysts say it is almost a foregone conclusion that President Yoweri Museveni, 81, will win a seventh term in Thursday's vote, given his near-total control over the state apparatus in the east African country.

But his opponent, 43-year-old Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, has framed the election as a protest vote and cannily turned the national flag into a symbol of resistance.

Police last month warned against using the flag “casually and inappropriately”.

Wine’s supporters have faced frequent intimidation by the security forces during the campaign, according to the UN Human Rights Office and other observers.

But the flag is “the only weapon we have,” said woodworker Conrad Olwenyi, 31, at a Wine rally this week.